NEW BLACKBERRY MODEL COMING: BlackBerry maker Research in Motion Ltd. is introducing its third new model in less than a year, a mid-sized device geared toward consumers who might prefer a full keyboard for typing text rather than the abridged one on the popular Pearl.

The Curve, named for its smooth edges, will be offered first by AT&T Inc., though no launch date or pricing was disclosed.

The device has a front trackball below the screen to navigate its menus, a feature that RIM introduced last year with the Pearl as a replacement for its signature side wheel for thumbing through e-mail. With the Pearl’s success, RIM also added the trackball to the 8800, the new version of its top-end phone for business users.

— Associated Press

Postal

SHIPPING PRIORITY BOXES TO GET CHEAPER: People using flat-rate priority mail boxes are getting a bit of a break.

Mailing the boxes will cost $8.95, regardless of weight, when the new postal rates take effect May 14, the postal Board of Governors announced Wednesday.

The Postal Regulatory Commission had recommended an increase to $9.15, from the current $8.10 charge.

The Postal Service asked the commission to reconsider and reduce the charge to under $9, and the commission agreed to the lower rate, the agency said.

The governors also said the commission has agreed to permit a 17-cent surcharge for odd-shaped first-class mail that cannot be handled by machines, regardless of weight. The commission originally had limited the surcharge to items weighing one ounce or less.

— Associated Press

Retail

GAP CONFIRMS JOB CUTS INEVITABLE: After nearly three years of sagging sales, clothing retailer Gap Inc. is trying to figure out how many workers to lay off as part of a cost-cutting effort designed to lift its profits.

Responding to a story published Wednesday in the New York Post, a Gap spokesman confirmed job cuts are inevitable as the San Francisco-based company responds to Wall Street’s pressures to bring its expenses more in line with its eroding revenue.

Gap employs about 154,000 workers, meaning a 1 to 2 percent reduction in jobs could still translate into 1,500 to 3,000 pink slips.

Rossiter declined to estimate the number of possible job cuts or discuss the Gap divisions most likely to be affected because no final decisions have been made. Besides the Gap brand, the company also owns the Old Navy and Banana Republic chains.

A firm timetable for announcing the cutbacks hasn’t been determined.

— Associated Press

Federal Reserve

FED TO SURVEY 10,000 FAMILIES: Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke wants to discover key facts about the personal finances of thousands of Americans, and he is promising that the information will be held in strict confidence.

The Fed sent out letters this week from Bernanke to approximately 10,000 families living in 79 cities and towns around the country asking them to participate in the central bank’s latest “Survey of Consumer Finances.”

The survey, which has been done once every three years since 1983, provides detailed information for the central bank and other economic researchers into household finances.

The data collected will give a representative picture of what Americans own, from houses and cars to stocks and bonds, to how much they borrow and where they borrow the money.

Three women have told the New York Times that music mogul Russell Simmons raped them, the latest in a cascade of serious allegations of sexual misconduct against powerful men in entertainment, media, politics and elsewhere.